International Investing: Australia

Economic Overview: Australia has a strong Western-style economy. Consumer confidence is high, exports of raw materials and agricultural products are profitable, and the budget has been in surplus since 2002. Negative factors in recent years include strong import demand and drought, although the trade balance improved last year after a long period of deficit growth.

What to Watch: For anyone following financial news, hardly a day goes by without some Macquarie entity cutting a deal. From infrastructure to investment banking, this Australian behemoth has helped put down-under on the map on Wall Street.

It's known as The Millionaire's factory, Masters of the Universe, The Money Machine.

And just six months after booking its first billion-dollar profit, Australia's largest investment bank - Macquarie - expects to turn in its first billion -dollar half year.

The bank's business model holds little similarity to other Wall Street giants like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, both of which are now betting big on infrastructure. But Macquarie's business model has come under fire for being too complex. It's shares fell 11 percent in August amid the credit crunch chaos.